Fight Night
by Captain Kobold
Summary: Introducing the Young Masters of Evil! Ish. Part 1 of 2. And totally finished now.
1. The Premise

_The protagonist teens are all newly-created by me, but all of them are based on pre-existing forgotten villains. Anyone anal-retentive enough to go and check will find that this is so. Notes will be provided as I am able to give them. Now Read On._

There was a game in play. For a second, Kang thought he might win. Then the Grandmaster picked up a rook and brought it down the board, taking the Queen. "Checkmate," he said.

Kang sighed. "These games become a forgone conclusion, old foe," he said.

The Grandmaster looked up from setting the board. Then why do you continue to play?"

Kang shrugged. For the same reason for so many of my actions: for the thrill of events and the possibility of victory. Perhaps it is merely the lack of incentive which dulls me. Perhaps we can play a game with some high stakes."

The Grandmaster thought for a moment, and grinned. "I have the idea of a game. And we can play it for the highest stakes of all: the future."

Kang looked up, querying. "How so?"

"Do you remember the time you pitted the Avengers against a team of villains created by myself? In a recent conversation, I had heard that there is now a team of adolescent Earthlings called the Young Avengers, who may well become Earth's Mightiest Heroes, given time to mature. If you can bring them to the table – "

Kang nodded uneasily. "I understand. But I tell you, they are not mere children. They are a formidable enough force already. How will you form a group to stand against them?"

The Grandmaster smiled. "I acquired this recently from the Collector in a game of chance," he said, taking a gem from a pocket of his clothes. The gem left his hand and began to float around the table. "It is the technological singularity of a race called the Jadzians; an impressive computing/teleportation matrix. I have given it all my information on the team. If a match for these youngsters is possible, then this will find it."

There was a pause, and the machine said, "Earth match incomplete."

The Grandmaster thought for a moment, and then said, "Expand search exponentially until the match is complete."

There was another pause, and then the machine said, "Match complete. Commence program Y/N?"

The Grandmaster stood up. "I will meet you at the Arena of Zenn-La in 24 Earth hours. Can you gather the Young Avengers by then?"

Kang nodded. "I only hope that you can produce an adequate match for the Young Avengers."

The Grandmaster smiled. "Do not worry about that, at least. If what I have heard is accurate, then those four boys are in for the fight of their lives."


	2. The WereApe

_No, I wrote that last part correctly. The Grandmaster's info is a little late._

_The Man-Ape is an old Black Panther baddie, last seen sometime in the 80s, and now believed to be extinct in the wild, hurhur. Aanyway._

The alarm went off at seven, as it always did. Chas stayed in bed another five minutes, as he always did. Eventually, he got up and switched it to the radio.

" – and reports indicate that the victims were attacked by a monstrous ape of some kind. One of the survivors described it as a 'white gorilla'. Officials from the Manhattan Zoo have reported there are no signs of break-in or escape last night, and the police have said they suspect animal smugglers – "

Chas stopped halfway through his sock drawer. He'd dreamt of a white gorilla last night. And the night before. No, it was a coincidence, it had to be.

He went to make his bed, and found small clumps of short white hair around the pillow. _Fur_, he thought. No, it was just – stuffing, or something.

He got into the kitchen just in time to see his father go out the door. "Chas, there you are," he said. "Just so you know, I'll be back by seven, there's dinner in the fridge, look after your grandmother and – "

" – remember that you love me. Right," said Chas fondly. His father said that every day. "See you, Dad."

His father was a computer technician for a tech firm in Manhattan. It was a good job, and this was a good city, but the times Chas treasured were the holidays. Then, they went to visit relatives in Wakanda. Chas had been born in America, and thought of himself as such, but his heritage would always be there, like roots.

"Mornin' Grandma," he said as she came into the kitchen. She was old, old enough to remember impoverished days in mud huts, before Wakanda had modernized. Sometimes she talked about her childhood.

"Ah Charles," she said, "I slept ill last night. Did you hear the radio? A White Gorilla attacked some people in Manhattan last night!"

"I heard Grandma. It's a pity, but so what?"

"Ah boy, don't you know your heritage?" She pulled a cats-head pendant from under her clothes and held it in her palm. "The people of the Wakandas have always believed that there are two spirits in the forest. One, the noble Black Panther, protects us and strengthens us. But the other, the terrible White Gorilla, attacks us and tries to destroy us! But worse, its evil can spread. It can try to turn a man into something like itself. If he is strong, he will recover. But if he is weak, he will be cursed by the moon goddess to become the beast, and be driven out by his own tribe!"

Chas said nothing, but his blood ran cold. It had been a full moon last night. A few weeks ago, he had gone to the apes' enclosure at the Manhattan Zoo. One of the White Gorillas there had got loose and bitten him before it had been caught. It hadn't been deep, and the keepers had apologised. And he hadn't told his father because he'd promised he wouldn't go.

As her left the apartment, he wondered what he was going to do.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and he was sharing the corridor with a blue-skinned man. "Whoa! What the hell are you?"

The blue man smiled. "Who I am is the Grandmaster, a cosmic player of games. But what I am is someone who can help you with your condition."

"What condition?"

"Don't play the idiot with me, boy. You're under the curse of the White Gorilla, a variant of your Earthling lycanthropy. Every full moon, your condition will worsen, until one day you'll go mad and remain the Ape permanently . However, treatment is possible. I have come into possession of this." He held up a bracelet woven from strips of leather. "With this, you can suppress the Ape-Curse for the rest of you natural life."

"And the price?" said Chas. He was no fool. There was something going on here.

"The curses magic will make you a powerful foe in a fight. I have a need for a young man such as yourself. Therefore, you will fight a battle for me, and I will give you the bracelet."

"Done," said Chas. It wasn't the perfect solution, but it would do until he found one. He and the man vanished in a flash of light.


	3. Cobalt Lad

_The Cobalt Man was a villain Iron Man knockoff. Last seen in Civil War #1, where he was beaten by germs and then blown up. He is presumed dead.(well wouldn't he be?)_

Normally, Hal Roberts would be going to the playing field with the other players. But he couldn't do that anymore anymore. "Dammit, Coach, why not?"

The Coach shrugged. "There are two very good reasons for that, kid: your grades and your attitude. You're good at football, but football is _extra_-curricular. What about the rest of it? Where do you see yourself in 10 years if you can't do football? More than that – how're you gonna get there if no-one likes you?"

Hal looked away from the Coach, furiously concentrated on cleaning out his locker. It was the same old tune. His father had said it, last time he'd seen him. His mother said it every other day. Now the Coach too. It wasn't fair! Why couldn't he do the thing he was best at?

He turned away after he'd cleaned the locker. There was some other student in the locker room now. "What're you looking at, faggot?" Hal said in an angry tone.

The kid looked shocked, and promptly left. Hal turned back to cleaning out his locker. Maybe he could spit on someone else's gear. That'd show them –

Suddenly, there was flash of light, and there was someone else in the locker room with him. Hal picked up a baseball bat from the Coach's gearbag, and hefted. "I don't care who you are, you geek," he said, "but I am giving you till the count of three to get the hell out of here."

"That's a pity, young Mister Roberts, because I believe that I can help you."

Hal laughed. "You're too late, man. I'm not on the team anymore. Wait for the rest of the team, maybe then you can sell your freaking pills."

"That's not what I'm referring to," the man said. He looked at the bat. "I take it that you are a counted as a warrior among your peers?"

Hal thought. Sure, he fought the other teams on the gridiron. "Yeah, I s'pose I was."

"Well, I have a need for young warriors. If you will fight for me, I will give you the opportunity for power and chances you can receive nowhere else on Earth."

"Are we still talking about pills?"

"No, boy," said the Grandmaster. He snapped his fingers and a suit of blue armour appeared in front of him. "This suit of armour was worn by the Cobalt Man. It was tuned to his brainwaves. For it to work, it needs an operator with similar brainwaves. You have such brainwaves. Will you accept the armour?"

Hal thought for a second. The chance to vent some frustration. The chance to make it big. What could it hurt? "Hell yeah."

The two of them vanished in a flash of light.


	4. The Meltress

_The Melter was a big-time Iron Man villain of the sixties. He co-founded the Masters of Evil. Unfortunately, he had a lousy gimmick. Eventually, he was shot in the head by a vigilante, and no-one cared._

Abigail Horgan had almost finished her study. It was a three-page essay on microwaves. Most people might think that a bit out of the range of a normal high-school student. But Abigail Horgan was not, strictly speaking, ordinary. She was the daughter of the late industrialist Bruno Horgan, who'd left a sizeable sum for her education. It had paid off, and then some. Abigail was about to graduate two years early.

She did it well, too. She sometimes wondered why no-one else could keep up with her. Maybe it was the money. Maybe everyone could concentrate like this, with her breaks. Her mother sometimes joked that she was a mutant. Not very often, though.

She put down the pen. There. Now to check for errors, and she could –

There was a flash of light, and the Grandmaster appeared.

Abigail blinked. "What do you want?" she said.

The Grandmaster was surprised. She was taking this much better than the first two. "I want your help in a matter. A matter which concerns you father – "

"No," she said, and picked up the sheet again.

"You didn't hear what it was."

"I don't need to. I know who and what my father was."

"And who was he?"

"He was the Melter. A supercriminal who fought the Avengers. He was killed by a man called the Scourge of the Underworld. And now you think I'll fill his shoes? I know what crime entails, Mister Whoever-You-Are, and there is no way I will help – what's that?"

She was pointing at the floating gem. "This? This is the technological singularity of an alien race. Quite a powerful supercomputer."

Her eyes widened at this. "A singularity? How did you get it?"

"I acquired it in a game of chance. Treasures like these attract me, and I attract treasures. But the thing is useful."

"Can I hold it?"

The Grandmaster grinned for a moment. "A trade? If you agree to my offer, I will give you a computer of comparable power and breadth."

Abigail reached forward, then stopped. "How do I know this isn't some trick to enslave humanity through computers?"

The Grandmaster grinned. "Young lady, with this device I could enslave humanity from here. But I have no intention of doing so. It would detract from my playing time. Now, will you accept?"

Abigail hesitated a moment. She'd always backed away before. But a computational singularity! The information in the device alone would be worth whatever she had to go through to. "Alright."

"You'll need your father's helmet."

She grinned. "I found it a few years ago. It's obsolete. I can design a better one, given the right tools."

The Grandmaster looked at her with newfound respect. "Then you and I have much to discuss."


	5. NalRogg

_Once upon a time, Captain Marvel had a nemesis named Yon-Rogg. He was one of those alien world-conquerors that crop up in comics every summer. I think he's dead now. I don't care._

Nal breath caught in his throat. He knew he had to breathe soon, but he'd be damned if he'd give Tro-Vonn the satisfaction of winning.

"Faster, damn your hide," shouted Tro-Vonn the sports master from the side of the track. "If this were an on-foot chase, you'd be dead by now, Rogg!"

Nal-Rogg wanted to pay no heed. It was the same shouting he did every sports period. However, this time he'd been kept back. Nal was beginning to hate the sports master. True, the Ji-Rom Academy was supposed to be spartan, but Nal had reached the limits of his good manners.

A messager on Tro-Vonn's belt went off, and he looked down to read it. "Maggot! It sems that a visitor to the school wants a word with you! Showers, then report to the lobby!"

Nal-Rogg turned to go, but stopped. If he didn't ask now, he never would. "Sir?"

"Yes Maggot? Do you want another run afterwards?"

"Sir, why do you give me such a hard time?"

There was a pause, and then the sports master grinned. "I have been waiting two months for you to say that. Why? First ask yourself this: why would any space-going race subject its young to these conditions?"

Nal had heard this question before, when his family had decided to send him here. "To forge hard, capable future citizens - "

"Yes. But we don't need future citizens, Maggot. We'll need future leaders. Leaders who won't give up in the face of anything. Now I had you pegged from the second you walked through that door. You've got the spark. You've got the family connections to get you where its needed. Alll you need is the drive to use it. And that's why I'm riding your ass more than the other students."

Nal looked at his sports master in a new light. "Sir, I - "

Tro-Vonn put his hand up. "Much as I've enjoyed this moment of illumination, the fact remains that you have a visitor. I'm not your father, I'm not your chattel, but I am your teacher AND I WILL FLAY YOU IF YOU'RE NOT OFF THIS TRACK IN UNDER TEN SECONDS!"

Less than twenty minutes later, Nal ran into the lobby and saluted Proctor Hak, the head teacher of the Academy. "Sir! Cadet Nal-Rogg, reporting as requested!"

"At ease, Cadet Rogg," said the Proctor, gesturing to a blue-skinned man on his right. "Our guest has... an unusual request. Under normal circumstances, I would not ask you to listen to him, but certain... elements within the government are pressuring me."

"Sir?"

"Perhaps I should explain myself," said the visitor. "I am the Grandmaster, an Elder of the Universe. Your Academy trains youn aristocratic Kree for eventual enrollment into the Kree Accuser Corps, is that right?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The Accuser Corps was the closest thing the Kree had to a judicial system. Each member was empowered to capture, arrest, imprison, convict, and sentence within the bounds of the Kree Penal Code. Each member was also equipped with enough hardware to destroy a spaceship.

"Yes. And in the course of each year at the Academy, a portion of the pass mark is awarded for work experience in the field, so to speak."

"This is true, sir."

The Proctor interrupted. "The Grandmaster wishes to retain your services for some special project of his. In exchange for your co-operation, he will assist the government in the war effort."

Nal was shocked. The Annihilation War had been all over the newsfeeds, but the fact that the government needed outside help was highly disturbing to his pride. "Sir, what margin of free will do I have in this - "

"None, said the Proctor. "I apologise, Cadet Rogg, I do know that cadets usually choose their own assignments, but I am being pressured in no uncertain terms to accept this offer."

The Grandmaster spoke up. "I should add that in exchange for your co-operation, I will also owe a substansial boon to yourself, Cadet. I am not without resouces."

Nal thought for a few seconds. There didn't seem to be a choice. "Then I shall accept, sir."

"Excellent!" said the Proctor, taking the boy's hand firmly in his two hands. Nal felt a small package being pressed into his hand, but said nothing.

While the Grandmaster was thanking the Proctor, Nal looked at the package. It was a small scanner array, of the kind used by Evidence Recovery Accusers. Around it was a note in the Proctor's handwriting: "Find out what you can. Miss nothing."


	6. The Heroes

_Look! The Young Avengers in a Young Avengers story! Sorry that took so long. This story takes place sometime after the first series, and sometime before Civil War #1 - Oh who cares?_

Teddy looked around the building site. "Anything?" he said.

Billy shook his head. "I can't sense anything out of the ordinary. I'll keep looking."

Good thing too, Teddy thought. Workers had been scared off the site by a series of mysterious lights. One of the men had said he'd seen 'some dude with a green-and-purple head' stalking the site. The Young Avengers had immediately volunteered. If Kang had somehow returned from their lst encounter with him, the would be trouble.

Behind him, Patriot was straining his super-hearing for something he couldn't see. The Vision's sensors were going over everything. Speed was a blur, searching the entire building-site every few seconds.

Teddy walked over to where Stature and Hawkeye. "It's enough to make you feel useless sometimes, isn't it?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "If he's here, we'll find him eventually. What I can't understand is why he'd be here anyway."

Hulkling had been wondering about that himself. "A time-traveling B&E? Laying mines for some future conflict? Who knows what's going to happen on this site, or already has?"

"Or maybe he just thought that a building that hadn't been built yet was the perfect base for a future time-traveler," said Stature.

Hulkling smiled. It was as good an explanation as any he'd heard today.

Suddenly, a bright blue light flashed over the building site, and Speed did something that Teddy had never seen him do.

He tripped. He suddenly stopped running and fell over. His team-mates ran over to help him.

"It is good to see that your skills have not diminished," said someone behind them. Hulkling turned, and stood still in horror as Kang the Conqueror walked calmly towards them. "Much good it will do you. This entire area has been placed under my latest acquisition: the Supressor Ray. When fired, it supresses all superhuman abilities in the target area."

"Then you're in for a shock," said Patriot, but stopped as the Vision fell over, inert.

"In addition, the ray contains a switch, so that the target area can be reduced to a smoking hole in the ground. Protonic bombardment. Quick, but that's about all you can say for it."

Hawkeye pulled an electro-stun arrow out of her quiver and set it on the drawstring. "Turn it off. Now," she said.

Kang smiled. "Miss, please try to understand: I'm not really here," he said, passing his hand through an I-beam a few times. "This is a soft light projection. But yes, I will turn it off. I have... entered a wager, for which I require your services. As a founding member of the Young Avengers, I now ask you to help me. Or, I can activate the weapon. You choose."

Patriot gritted his teeth. He hated Kang deeply in that moment. "What the hell is this wager?" he said.

Kang shrugged. "Nothing you cannot succeed at. My opponent believes he can construct a team to best you. I am attempting to disprove his idea."

There was a pause. Then Kang's hologram pulled out a remote control device. "Do you accept?"

"Yes, damn you," said Patriot.

There was the flash of a teleporter, and all seven teenagers vanished.


	7. The Fight part 1

_Sorry 'bout the gap there, folks. Won't happen again, I swear._

Hulkling looked around. Wherever they were now, it wasn't the building site. It was a holding pen in metallic blue walls, with strange grey dirt on the floor. One wall was a little shinier than the rest, so he assumed that was how they would walk out.

They… with a stab of panic realised that Cassie, Kate and Tommy weren't with them. "Guys?" he said. "Wasn't there more of us before the flash?"

Patriot looked up from Vision, who had gone into some kind of involuntary system shock during the teleport. "What the – damn it, Kang must have sent them somewhere else!"

"Oh, they're quite close," said Kang. His voice in the silence, but didn't sound like a recording. The wonders of 30th century technology, thought Hulkling.

"So give them back, you clown!" said Wiccan, looking around the room for something resembling speakers.

"Temper, temper, Wiccan," came the voice, "Save your rage for the fight ahead. When it's over, you and your friends will be returned safely then. In the meantime, your friends will merely serve as reinforcements, should it prove necessary – "

There was a bang as Wiccan blasted a small black lump on the side of the wall, and then Kang went silent.

Hulkling began rolling his shoulders. Like it or not, they were here, wherever or whenever here was. And they would fight whatever foe Kang had dredged up, and they would go home.

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Chas looked at the three kids in the blue room with him. There was a girl with a weird helmet, who kept clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to relax. There was a blue guy with a metal mace, checking the contents of various pouches on his military-style utility belt. And a burly white guy who was unpacking a suit of armour from a weird briefcase.

He looked down at the little leather bracelet the Grandmaster had given him before he'd come here. It was supposed to help him, allow him a measure of control when he changed. One fight. One fight, and he got the other bracelet, that would suppress the thing altogether.

He looked at the blue guy. "So, what're you in for?" he said light-heartedly.

The blue guy looked at him blankly. "I do not understand your idiom."

"Will you two be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate," said the girl.

"Why?" sad the guy with the suitcase. He had put on the chestplate, and was attaching the arms, legs and helmet. "It's not like this thing needs much thought. We're here. They, whoever they are, are out there. Take a deep breathe, run, and don't look back." He finished putting on the armour, and stood there, looking down at his armoured fists. "Does anyone know how to turn on the power in this thing?"

The blue guy looked at him for a second, and then pointed his mace at the guy in the armour for a second. There was a bang and a flash of light. Suddenly, all the lights on the armour lit up.

"Hey thanks. How'd you know to do that?"

The blue guy shrugged. "Mobile offensive armours must have an obvious 'on' switch, or they become useless. I attacked the machine, and it activated. It hopes that you will now use it to defend yourself."

"Hey, cool!" said the guy in armour. He extended a hand. "I'm the Cobalt Man."

The blue guy looked at his hand for a second, smiled, and shook it. "I am Nal-Rogg, Cadet of the Kree Public Accuser Corps."

"Um… hey," said the girl. "I'm the Meltress."

The three of them looked at Chas. Chas shrugged. "I'm the guy who was dumb enough to get bitten by a magic gorilla, and unlucky enough not to walk it off. You can call me Charles."

Cobalt Man sniggered. "You got bitten by a radioactive gorilla?"

"No, you moron," said the Meltress, "he just said it was magic."

"Hey, whatever, Brain Trust," said Cobalt Man, "but whatever's coming, just stay out of my way. If it's a choice between you, the alien, and Magic Gorilla Man, I think I might do my best work alone."

Suddenly, one wall of their cell began moving. It slid neatly into the ground. Beyond it was a large arena with a network of platforms in the centre, and another opening on the other side.

Suddenly, a booming voice coming from nowhere in particular said, "WELCOME TO THE ARENA OF ZENN-LA! FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY, THE ARENA WILL PLAY HOST TO A BATTLE ROYALE FOR THE VERY FUTURE OF THE PLANET EARTH ITSELF!"

Chas stepped out into the light and instantly regretted it. He'd assumed it was a spotlight, but beyond the spotlight he could see a moon, turning in that unfamiliar sky. He doubled over in pain as he felt his body changing.

"IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE – PATRIOT! VISION! WICCAN! AND HULKLING! TOGETHER, THEY ARE – THE YOUNG AVENGERS!"

There was silence from the empty arena, and then the Meltress said, conversationally, "I thought there were more members in the Young Avengers…"

"AND IN THIS CORNER," the voice continued, "WE HAVE – THE WERE-APE!"

Chas realised the pain had stopped. He got up. He still felt like himself, but there was a deep urge to grab something and tear its throat out. He looked down at his heavily muscled forearms, and grinned under silvery fur.

"THE MELTRESS!"

Abigail looked at the platforms. She'd heard stuff about the Young Avengers, but she was willing to bet that she could spring a trap with those to work with.

"COBALT LAD!"

"Cobalt Lad? Excuse me?" said Hal. "Cobalt _Lad_?"

"AND NAL-ROGG! TOGETHER, THEY ARE – THE YOUNG MASTERS OF EVIL!"


	8. Some more fight

"Cannot believe they stuck me with Cobalt Lad," muttered Hal as the to groups moved out. "First chance I get, I'm complaining…"

His stopped and looked at the Young Avengers. He definitely recognised the black-haired kid in the red cape. Squinting trough the visor, he was surprised when the machine responded by cranking up the optics. Looking at the guy, he suddenly realised why he knew him.

"Kaplan!"

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Patriot looked around the arena. Well, it could have been worse. A t least they were facing humans, and there was gravity. His eyes settled on the platforms. With a little imagination, he guessed he could spring –

"KAPLAN!" The roar echoed around the arena, and Patriot looked around to see the guy in the armour charging at them with his fists out. "KAPLAN! C'MERE, FAGGOT!"

Hulkling looked at Wiccan. "You never told us you had a nemesis, Billy."

Wiccan stopped. "He sounds like a guy from my school. Hal Roberts. Hal… well, I guess you could call him my nemesis…"

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M GONNA KILL YOU, FREAK!"

"Aw, drop it, you ass," said Wiccan. Taking a deep breath, he threw a flash of energy at the charging teenager. Who suddenly found himself sixty feet up, and falling.

Inches from Hal's ear, a tiny voice said, "Gravity accelerating. Propulsion will activate in 2… 1…"

Neat, thought Hal. What else can this thing do?

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Hulkling saw the armour's boot-jets activate. Based on the guy's shouting, he guessed it would be better if he dealt with the armoured guy before he figured out how to work the lasers, or whatever that suit had. Using his shape-shifting powers to grow a set of wings, he was about to take off when he heard someone say, "Son of Mar-Vell!"

Hulkling turned. There was a Kree in green armour. Smaller armour than what the flying dude had, but Hulkling didn't feel like taking any chances. "Yes, I'm the son of Captain Marvel," he shouted back, "what is it?"

"I am Nal-Rogg, Cadet of the Kree Accuser Corps. Son of Yon-Rogg, Commodore of the Kree Second Space Fleet. Our fathers had a blood feud before their deaths. Now, by the forms of ritual combat, I challenge you to end that feud with a duel to the death!"

Hulkling stared at the guy for a second. "Listen, uh, Nal-Rogg, I'd like to help you with that, but my friends need my help, so if you could just wait a bit, then – "

"If you will not meet the summons," said Nal-Rogg, "then by the Kree law, I name you as a xenoform."

Hulkling did not have time for this. "A what?"

"What on Earth you call an alien. As the non-Kree child of a Kree parent, you hold a unique place in our law. Thus, if you will not accept the burden of a Kree male of your family, and face me in a duel, I can legally declare you a xenoform and dispose you and your accomplices."

"That's lunacy!"

"That is the status of the law. What say you to the summons?"

Hulkling looked once again at Cobalt Lad, who was firing lasers and missing everyone. "If I face you'll, you'll leave my friends out?"

"Yes, son of Mar-Vell."

"Fine." He ran for Nal-Rogg, and before he had got halfway he was flapping his wings, getting himself airborne. With twenty feet to go he launched himself, and got knocked about the head with a mace. Recovering, he made his arms longer and began trying to find a way through his opponent's armour.

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Vision floated through the platforms. He knew there were four opponents. One was above him, only dangerous at close range. Another was engaging Hulkling. The third, a white gorilla creature, was trying to beat Patriot with little success. Where was the fourth? If he could find her and stun her, then –

Suddenly, he felt sluggish. His processors began to warn him of overheating, and his cooling units swung into overdrive. To power this he had to stop phasing immediately. Which was a problem when he was floating through a platform. He screamed in pain as his molecules meshed with the platform. Where was this attack coming from?

"When I was twelve," said a voice conversationally, "a boy in my school found out who my father was and beat me up. I told him my dad would get him, and he laughed. He said, 'What's he gonna do, _lame_ me to death?' And that's the problem when you carry a name like Melter. You become a target."

Vision looked around for the speaker. He saw a girl in a strange helmet. She stepped onto the platform he found himself through, and kicked him in the head. "So tell me, metal man," she continued, "do you feel up to targeting anyone right now?"

Vision thought he could muster enough power to go intangible, but suddenly her helmet started to glow, and he could feel the microwaves entering his body, slowing his systems, trapping him…

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Patriot ducked again. The gorilla, if it was a gorilla, was a hard foe to beat. It had several times his strength, was almost as fast as him, and was it gunning for him. He could maybe outthink it, but he would never outfight it.

Ducking around a punch, he realised that was the answer. He was a soldier now, like his grandfather, like his uncle. Soldiers used the terrain. Soldiers looked after their teammates.

He could hear the flying guy's laser bouncing off Wiccan's forcefields. Looking around, he saw the Vision being attacked by one of the other villains. If he could get her to concentrate on him, the Vision would be able to fight the Were-Ape.

He ran. There was a roar behind him as the beast tried to match his speed, but he had the head start. Jumping from stairs to platforms, in the air most of the time, he managed to get close enough to use a throwing-star on the girl. They bounced off her helmet, stunning her just enough for the Vision to get away. "You want to be my target, boy, you'll do just as well…"

"I'd like to see you try – " Suddenly, the lobe of Patriot's left ear were burning. He stopped and put his hand over it.

"Metal earrings," said the Meltress. "Flashy. Hip. Dumb. And very," she paused to punch him so he fell off the platform, "distracting."

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On happier days, the Dignitaries' Platform of the Zenn-La Arena would hold government officials, celebrities, or the families of the opposing captains. Tonight, however, it held only two people: the Grandmaster and Kang. The Jadzian singularity floated around them both.

The Grandmaster steeped his fingers and shot a glance at Kang. "I am impressed, old foe," he said, "these four youngsters are all you said they were. I am surprised that I was able to assemble a match for them so easily."

"Mmm," said Kang vaguely. He was looking at a button on his console, clearly thinking about something.

"Still, I believe that I have chosen well with my four warriors. There is really no way they can win against these odds. You may as well throw your 'defeat' switch."

"I'm sorry?" said Kang, looking up from the fight.

"Your 'defeat' button. That is the purpose of the button, is it not? To abdicate from the match?"

Kang looked at the button for a second, and then laughed. "No, old foe," he said, pressing it, "it summons the rest of the Young Avengers."

"The rest – " The Grandmaster paused for a second. "But you said that there were four – "

"No, you had heard that there were four," said Kang. "I merely use the information I had to the best advantage. I now deploy my reinforcements."


	9. Yet more fight

Kate had been forced to watch, in stunning 3-D, the defeat of her team-mates by the opposing team. She had seen within minutes where they were going wrong: they weren't acting as a team, they were letting themselves be divided up and destroyed.

She was just about to try jemmying the door open with the sharp end of an arrow when it began to move. Stature and Speed, who had been trying to break through the walls, both stopped what they were doing and looked at the door. It opened up onto… the back of an opened area similar to the one they'd been in, except that this one was open on one side to the arena. Kate guessed that this was the cage that had held their teammates before they had been sent out.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S VERY STRANGE! DUE TO A TECHNICALITY, THE YOUNG AVENGERS ARE FIELDING AN ADDITIONAL THREE MEMBERS! THERE'S NOTHING AGAINST IT IN THE GOUND RULES, SO PLEASE WELCOME TO THE ARENA: STATURE! SPEED! AND HAWKEYE!"

The three new fighters moved into action immediately. Stature ran for Cobalt Lad, trying to hold him down in her giant hands. He kept moving away, but Wiccan was using his powers to try and hold him in one place.

Speed ran straight for the fight between Hulkling and Nal-Rogg. Building speed, he ploughed into Nal-Rogg, knocking away from Hulkling. Nal-Rogg got up winded. "As a xenoform… interfering in a… sanctioned duel," he gasped, "under Kree law I am allowed to deploy lethal force. Feel the wrath of my kinetic ram!"

Speed dodged the blast. And the next blast, and the next. "Kinetic ram," he said, "right."

Suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. Then he knocked into Nal-Rogg from a different angle. Nal-Rogg's armour protected him, but he was totally unprepared for the blizzard of punches that rained down on him.

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Hawkeye had seen gorillas before, but never this close. And never this fierce. A couple cc's of tranq ought to do the job, she thought.

And then she saw the Meltress attacking Patriot. Were-Ape forgotten, she selected a magnet-head arrow from the bag, aimed for the other girl, and let fly.

The magnet-head arrow hit her helmet hard enough for it to hurt. But that wasn't the point. The magnet interfered with the electronics in the helmet. Patriot stopped clutching his ears, but by the time he looked up, she was gone, and he could see his friends needed help.

But that wasn't enough, thought Hawkeye. Now that the fight had started, with the powers at play, it wouldn't be long before someone got killed. And for what? So Kang could brag to his friends, as soon as he got some. Hell no. Mastermind jerks like him needed to be close to the action, so they could feel better about not being involved. She was going to find him and get him to end this.


	10. The climax

Hulkling had decided that Speed could handle Nal-Rogg alone, so he turned his attention to Cobalt Lad. Flying over he saw that he had hit Cassie in the neck hard enough to give her a coughing fit, and was rounding on Wiccan. By the time he got there, Cobalt Lad had smashed through his forcefield and had punched him in the stomach. "Just like old times, freak…"

Hulkling landed on Cobalt Lad with both feet. "Word of advice, doofus," he said, as he heard the other young man struggling for air, "Don't use that word when I'm around."

"Yeah?" gasped Cobalt Lad, struggling to get up, "and what are you, his boyfriend?"

"Yup."

Cobalt Lad stopped, clearly not expecting this. "Oh." He brought his fist up, catching Hulkling in the side of the head. "Good."

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With the Vision, stopping the Were-Ape should have been easy. But it's preternatural regenerative powers made it almost immune to the Vision's phasing powers, and his heat-vision had slowed it down but not otherwise helped. It came down to a battle of strength.

Patriot looked around the field. Cassie was back down to normal size, Kate was missing, and Tommy –

He was horrified as Nal-Rogg managed to connect with Tommy just as he came with arm's length. It was a glancing blow, but with Tommy's own speed, the power of the blow was magnified several times. He went flying.

"Vision, go help Speed! Let me deal with the Ape!"

As Vision departed, Patriot wondered how. The thing had shrugged off most of his brute force attacks, and now he could swear it was grinning…

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Nal-Rogg had been impressed by the son of Mar-Vell. The biometric scans he had managed to get would give Kree biologists whole new pathways to explore. As well as the honour he had restored to the family name by keeping to the fight in the face of an interruption.

Nal-Rogg had been infuriated by the fast human who had tried to distract him from the son of Mar-Vell. His unique physiology had been difficult to quantify when he was moving at top speed.

But as he stood over the fast human, now comatose, and prepared to use his mace-shaped cosmi-rod to deliver the sentence that was the fate of all who tried to cheat Kree law, he felt an intangible hand move through his stomach. He turned to see the robot, and for the first time that day, Nal-Rogg was amazed. That the humans had such machinery! And, although it was advanced, it was not so far advanced that Kree science could not examine it without good result.

As the Vision solidified his hand inside Nal-Rogg, Nal-Rogg brought up the recorder he had been given and connected it to the skin of the Vision and hit 'record'. To the Vision, it was the equivalent of having a half-solidified hand stuck through his chest. Both of them passed out from shock.

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The rope arrow had got her out of the arena. Now she was running, running through an empty stadium looking for the greatest mass murderer in human history, to threaten him using a bag full of pointed sticks. It was the kind of thing you'd laugh at, if your friends weren't facing the prospect of an imminent, meaningless death.

Hawkeye broke through the final row of seats, and she saw the only lights in the stadium on a platform on the top of the stadium. A set of steps led in that direction, and she took them two at a time.

Putting a non-trick arrow in her bow, he jumped out of the stairwell and pointed the arrow at the two people sitting in the light. "Neither of you had better move!"

"Hmm," said the Grandmaster. "Well Kang, is this something else you neglected to tell me?"

"He's not controlling this," said Hawkeye. "I am. Now – turn off whatever freaky crap is keeping us here. This – ends – now."

Kang laughed. "You think you can end this fight with some harsh words and medieval weaponry? We are shielded, Miss Bishop. Nothing you can do will make us reconsider."

Hawkeye stood there for a second, feeling foolish. She should have considered this. They were already ignoring her, turning back to the fight, and one of her friend would die.

Her thought was interrupted by a whirring noise. A floating device was moving around the two chairs. And based on the way it was bouncing off the air, she had a hunch that it was on her side of the shield. Was it important?

Hey, what's the worst that could happen? She pulled the arrow back and let fly.

There was a flash.


	11. and the denouement

Kang was surprised at the pride he felt that this young woman, nominated by him for the contest, had been the only combatant to transcend the fight and actually challenge the controllers. "Do you believe it's recoverable?" he said to the Grandmaster.

The Grandmaster looked up from the fragments of the Jadzian singularity. "Well, this is not my field, but were I," he smiled, "a betting man, I would say no. How did she know what would happen?"

Kang shrugged. "I would assume she didn't. But still, to have realized that there was a way around the fight, that is extraordinary."

The Grandmaster stood up. "In life as in chess, the pawn that can cross the board can do anything afterwards." He moved to collect the few things he had brought with him. "Congratulations on your misdirection, by the way."

Kang smiled. "Oh, it was a small thing – "

"Not at all. The misdirection was the piece you built your strategy on. If you could replicate such a feat, you would become truly unbeatable."

"Thank you. Tell me, do you know what became of the youths?"

"Not for a certainty," said the Grandmaster preparing to teleport away, "but if I had to look, I'd look at the locations of the last two teleports that were made."

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When Patriot could see again, he was in the construction site. The exact same construction site where they had left, it looked like. "Everyone here?"

In various shades of exhaustion and bewilderment, Hulkling, Wiccan, Stature, Hawkeye, Vision and Speed showed they were here.

"What happened?" said Stature, feeling her arms for lasers burns she'd got while giant-sized.

"I shot some doodad that was floating around Kang," said Hawkeye, blushing. "I thought it was important, but I never thought it was the teleporter."

"So… what? How did we end up back here?" Speed was recovering well, considering how close he'd come to death.

"If Kang and the Grandmaster were using the teleporter, then since we were teleported as a group, we were sent to our last location. Given that our opponents were unused to working as a team, it is possible the same thing happened to them."

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Abigail had just finished rebooting the hardware in her helmet when the flash of light had obscured her vision. When her sight returned, she saw that she was indoors, at night, and accompanied by Were-Ape, Cobalt Lad and Nal-Rogg, all looking the worse for wear. "Anybody know where we are?"

There was a general moan of denial from Cobalt Lad and Were-Ape, but Nal-Rogg stood up. "I think… I think…"

"Yes?"

Suddenly, the light flashed on, and the room they were in was filled with angry-looking blue-skinned aliens. All of them were yelling in their own language, and Nal-Rogg was yelling back. Abigail sighed. Considering how far they were from home, her only hope was that they were feeling charitable enough to drop the three humans off home before the week was out.

One of the aliens turned to her. "You are the helpers of our student Nal-Rogg?"

So this was his school. "Yes, uh, you could certainly say that." Behind the alien talking to her, Nal-Rogg was gesturing to a thing the size of a memory stick in his hand.

"For helping our student to return safely, we thank you. But your arrival was part of the original arrangement."

"Well, um, we're very sorry, sir, and if you could just drop us off home your, uh, nearest convenience, that'd be – "

"We cannot do that. There is a war between the Kree and the Annihilation Wave. Travel is restricted. Information is restricted. You will not be allowed to leave this planet until the war is over."

"And when will that be?" She couldn't believe this was happening. She had been suckered into a fight by some alien nutjob with a few neat tricks, and now she was faced with the prospect of dying on the barricades of a foreign war, so far from home that she couldn't even comprehend the distance.

"Perhaps months."

The argument between Nal-Rogg and the other aliens got louder but Abigail just got quieter. This whole situation had two causes: the Grandmaster and the Young Avengers. Hadn't either of them guessed that she and her allies were stranded in a warzone? Didn't they care? Or were they just too removed from the rest of the world to have feelings like that?

As the argument wound down, she swore she would track down the Young Avengers, and the Grandmaster, and make them pay for standing her away from home with no warning for long enough to be considered dead. As soon as she had –

"Excuse me, human female, but we cannot understand the written. The programs of the robot which Nal-Rogg examined. The programs are written with reference to English, and we cannot understand. Can you help us?"

– leverage, thought Maggie. This would earn them enough brownie points to get them back to Earth, with maybe enough left over that they could borrow some firepower.

And of course there was always the chance of finding something interesting, she thought, as she plugged the memory stick-sized device into an alien computer, and read the words "Avengers Failsafe Protocol"…

Closure is good. So is the knowledge that I finished what I started. Best of all is the fact that I created the Young Masters of Evil before Allan Heinburg got to do it.

_To prevent big gaps between instalments, I'm going to do the next one in one go, s soon as I have it finished!_


End file.
